1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containment techniques and devices for hazardous matter, and more particularly to a flexible manipulation enclosure within which articles suspected to be contaminated can be examined and thereafter stored.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent events have significantly affected the conduct of everyday life, particularly in those instances that are susceptible to mischief, sabotage or even terror. Amongst these are the ordinary delivery processes like the mail or parcel delivery which have been subverted for dissemination of hazardous matter to the public at large. The resulting potential for disruption of the ordinary processes of commerce has an enormous consequence on the whole economy, and the long-term effects cannot be overstated. As result, various techniques are currently sought to attenuate this threat.
A major aspect of any response to a chemical or biological hazard is the safe collection and storage of all articles that are suspected to have been contaminated, with the range of article suspects increasing with the virulence of the hazard. Good analytical processes then require that this collection be effected in organized logical patterns in which the individual articles are identified and separately enclosed to reduce any incidents of cross-contamination. This analytical technique is then helpful in revealing both the source of the hazardous substance and the mechanism of its delivery, information that is critical in any response.
In the past various techniques and structures have been devised which in one manner or another shield the person that is engaged in manipulation of hazardous tasks or matter. Most frequently such shielding structures are exemplified by devices referred to as the xe2x80x9cglove boxxe2x80x9d in which the user inserts his hands into the interior of a cavity through affixed rubber gloves. Exemplary glove boxes useful in shielding the person from hazards of sandblasting abrasion is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,395 to Guseman; a sterile shielding structures useful in the course of surgical treatment of highly infectious maladies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,316,541 to Fischer; an enclosure for containing welding gases in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,771 to Kleppen; and others. Each of these, while suitable for the purposes intended, entails a generally complex enclosure that is therefore expensive. This expense limits the discardable aspects of the device, particularly in a household setting. Moreover, the complexity and physical size of these structures renders such less than fully useful for sealing and conveniently storing the inspected mail article until the suspicions regarding its contamination are resolved.
Of course, there are other instances where manipulative convenience is desired in a discardable enclosure. For example, those engaged in home repairs often need to manipulate and thereafter discard soiled plumbing pieces and the simple task of an automobile oil filter replacement requires manipulative grasping and sealed confinement of the filter that is then discarded. Thus there are numerous instances where shielded manipulation is desired and once effected the manipulated article needs to enclosed and discarded. A technique for massproducing an inexpensive, discardable and sealable manipulation shield is therefore extensively sought and is one such shield that is disclosed herein.
Accordingly, it is the general purpose and object of the present invention to provide an inexpensively fabricated flexible glove structure including a sealable edge.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a fabrication process for producing in multiples a flexible glove extending from an enlarged tubular wrist segment that includes a sealable edge at the opening thereof.
Yet further objects of the invention are to provide an inexpensively produced flexible tubular enclosure formed of a transparent polymer sheet, terminating at one end in a glove and including a sealable edge at the other end.
Additional objects of the invention are to provide a discardable manipulation shield that is also adapted to contain and seal the article manipulated.
Briefly, these and other objects are accomplished within the present invention by providing a fabrication process for producing a flexible, reversible transparent glove formed to extend at its wrist opening from one end of a tubular enclosure provided with a sealable edge at its other end. Preferably both the glove and the enclosure are fabricated as a single piece with the enclosure defining a substantially larger envelope. With the user""s arm inserted, the enclosure can then be turned inside-out and pulled over to surround any article grasped by the glove. Once so aligned to envelope the grasped article the sealable edge at the enclosure can then be closed, sealing the article therein. The article thus sealed can then be taken for analysis or can be collected for safe disposal.
Those in the art will appreciate that the foregoing glove and arm cover combination is particularly conformed as an inexpensive article that may be fabricated by heated filament stamping of any one of the several polymer sheet material structures like, for example, clear polyethylene film. Unlike the dexterity necessary for surgical procedures the function of the present inventive shielding structure needs to accommodate only such manipulations as may be necessary to lift and then enclose the article suspected of contamination and the shielding envelope, therefore, can be effected in a form that is even less expensive than a surgical glove. The seal itself may be effected as a simple adhesive strip covered by ribbon that may be peeled off when sealing is desired, or may take the seal structure sold under the mark or symbol xe2x80x9cZipLocxe2x80x9d by S C Johnson. In this manner a convenient, inexpensive and therefore discardable shielding envelope is devised which is useful in a home to manipulate envelopes and packages delivered while such are enclosed, useful in hazardous substances collection and also in the collection of evidence or samples in the course of any criminal or scientific investigation.
For those applications where two handed grasping is necessary a plastic bag may be provided with a glove in each bottom corner, with the user""s arms then extending through the bag to each glove. As before, the bag opening may include a sealing strip to effect a seal once the bag is turned inside-out and extended over the article.
In both forms the inventive shielding envelope can be inexpensively produced in a ribbon heat stamping process which utilizes the process of heat xe2x80x98weldingxe2x80x99 of folded ribbons of thermoplastic film, the fold being joined along one edge by a fully reversible set of interlocking beads. In the course of the fabrication sequence a series of gloved enclosures are formed adjacent the interlocked edge, by sequential heated filament stamping, the interlocked edge being then separated and folded over to partly overlie the formed enclosures. The reversed edge beads are then pressed together to interlock once again at those portions of the robbon that have been removed to be then followed by a further heat filament severing step that forms the final gloved enclosurewith the edge opening folded over for convenient use. Thus a simple and effective fabrication process is devised for producing inexpensive shielding enclosures.